Goodbye To Our Osprey

I apologize for my long absence, life’s recent ups and downs have kept me hopping with little time for my hobbies. Although some things are still ongoing, this is my attempt to get back to routine posting. I’ve really missed blogging and reading others’!

Catching up with my last post, we continued to have numerous attempts of a new Osprey pair trying to take up residence on our nest platform this summer, but it was not to be. The long-time Osprey pair across the water on the Kent Narrows South Entrance Channel Marker 3 loved our platform too much as a resting spot where it afforded them a direct clear sighting to their nest for the area’s intruders. They continued to steal the new resident’s nesting materials, never allowing a nest to get built.

Here’s a photo of another started nest of the new Osprey pair being protected by the female with the male coming in with a meal. Unfortunately, once they left the nest to hunt or exercise, the KN Channel Marker Osprey would swoop in, grab, and leave.

As the summer winds down, most of our area Osprey have already departed for their Caribbean or South America winter vacation. Last week, several Osprey dads were still visible, hanging around their nests, waiting for their last chick to hit the migration sky trail. Once the last chick departs the nest, the dad can finally go too! The moms have long gone, they are the first to leave.

It has now been three days since I’ve seen an osprey on any of my local area’s couple dozen nests or in the sky. I’m getting that empty-nest feeling, if you know what I mean. 🙂

Here’s a few of my favorite photos from the past few months when I had a chance to do a little shooting of my favorite bird, the Osprey.

Look at those talons! Yikes!

The next few photos are of the Osprey chicks on the Kent Narrows Channel Marker 3 taken from our boat. The long-time resident parents could care less with all the boats that must pass them so narrowly close year after year, they have gotten very use to them. But the chicks think otherwise. They will get quite vocal to let you know you are not welcomed.

Juvenile Osprey

One of the juvenile Osprey took flight as we passed by and really gave us an earful while he followed and circled our boat as we headed out to Prospect Bay. Maybe he was showing Momma who is in the photo’s background how good he was at chasing us away! 🙂